This newsletter started as a daily summary of stories I found of people providing great hospitality. But some of you have told me there are two issues with that:

1. you can read these stories elsewhere, and

2. you don’t always have the time to read a ton of new stories each day

So let’s try changing it up a bit.

Moving forward, I’ll share one quick idea each day that I picked up from conversations I’ve had with owners and operators who are doing cool things.

My mission here remains the same: to help you get better each day at providing hospitality.

Alright. Let’s jump into our story of the day. I posted this on LinkedIn on Friday, and it blew up - becoming my most popular post of the year. You might appreciate it as well…

Building systems to scale

Zoku is one of the coolest brands I’ve come across recently. Opened in 2016, they invented a new category in hospitality with their home-office hybrid concept, Zoku Loft.

While the Zoku brand started with incredible design, savvy operators like Reinier Bunnik understand it takes more than a cool concept to build a thriving brand.

There must be systems behind the scenes that allow you to deliver on the promise of your brand experience. And they need to do that in a way that helps you grow. 

“When you’re a young company you end up with a bunch of systems and tools because someone along the way thought it was a good idea, but it often turns out to be a house of cards,” Reinier said. “We needed a core, integrated technology stack that would sustain the growth and scalability of our brand.” 

Without systems that interacted with each other, reporting on performance was challenging. “At some point, you have to evaluate if things are working or not. You can’t just be happy-go-lucky and hope things work out.” 

You can read the full story here if you’d like to learn how Zoku went through the process of defining its needs, selecting a technology partner, and implementing the solution.

My takeaway? Brand and design matter, but make sure you have the infrastructure to support the delivery of that experience you want to provide - and a way of reporting on your performance.

What do you think of this new format? Reply to this email to let me know.

If you really miss the roundup of stories I find, sign up for my weekly email briefing at HotelOperations.com.